


The Moon's on Fire

by Seito



Series: time is a social construct [2]
Category: Katekyou Hitman Reborn!
Genre: Angst, Friendship, Gen, Temporary Character Death, Time Loop
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-26
Updated: 2019-02-23
Packaged: 2019-10-16 12:01:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 3,415
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17549312
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Seito/pseuds/Seito
Summary: The thing was Namimori was quiet. Namimori was normal.And yet for its frail slumbering peace, Tsuna felt himself shake to his very core. Within him was a storm, a rage that Tsuna carefully shackled and hidden, locking it up tight. He was twenty four, he couldn’t… couldn’t get angry.Getting angry wasdangerous.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Kosaji](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kosaji/gifts).



> This is Tsuna's side for 'The First Hello and Every Last Goodbye'. It's not required to read to understand this one.

The thing was Namimori was quiet. Namimori was normal.

And yet for its frail slumbering peace, Tsuna felt himself shake to his very core. Within him was a storm, a rage that Tsuna carefully shackled and hidden, locking it up tight. He was twenty four, he couldn’t… couldn’t get angry.

Getting angry was _dangerous._

His Sky Flames sparked like fireflies around him, flickering in and out of control. He was a hair trigger away from exploding. Just a single pin drop was all it took to let his Sky Flames loose and _consume_.

Tsuna couldn’t afford to get angry. There was too much riding on his shoulders. Too many people counting on him. Too much power contained in himself to let it go safely. Too much danger lurking in the darkness, ready to take care of his weakness.

His shoulders shook, trembling with his barely contained rage. Teeth clenched, he bit down so hard, drawing blood from his lip. The coppery taste barely masking the bitterness in his mouth.

He wanted nothing more than to scream, scream to the heavens, scream to depths of hell.

This was ten years of pressure and he was finally caving underneath its weight. He had tried to be strong, he had tried to do the right thing. He stained his hands in crimson blood and went down that dark road. This was ten years of fighting, fighting his destiny, fighting his morals. This was ten years of embracing his birthright, its shackles, chains and sins. This was ten years of compromising his morals, his judgement, the people he loved.

Tsuna was a faithful son. He went. He fought, tried to never lose his way. He tried so hard. So, so, so hard.

And just when he thought maybe, maybe he was making some progress, they had come.

Byakuran and Millefiore Famiglia swept in, unleashing a war. Then it became an incandescent literary of demands for blood paid back in full, of vengeance. And little by little, Tsuna’s voice had drowned, until even he too had to bow to weight of expectations and the demands of the majority.

And what was it all for?

Tsuna snarled. What. Was. It. All. For?!!

He squeezed tight, the deceptively fragile yellow pacifier not even cracking under the pressure from his hands.

“I’m sorry, Reborn,” Tsuna whispered hoarsely.

The grave didn’t answer him. How could it?

Tsuna let that anger roll under his skin, seething. Byakuran and his war had taken Reborn. The person who believed in Tsuna, the man who gave him the weapons to fight, to define his life. His tutor, his cornerstone, his steady support. Reborn might have been the unforgivable reason why he was nothing more than a stone cold mafia boss and killer, but Tsuna owed him for simply believing that Tsuna could become _more_ than just Dame-Tsuna, forged steel in Tsuna’s spine, the self confidence built like a tower, turned his lofty dreams into weapons, gave him the power to change himself.

Tsuna owed Reborn so much.

And how did Tsuna repay him? By watching him wither away, watched his strength fade as Byakuran’s poison stole and stole and stole!

Tsuna despite all of Vongola’s power, all of Vongola’s resources could do _nothing_ to save him.

The storm in Tsuna’s heart grew and grew, weathering and wearing on his heart. His frustrations, his anger, his grief, all wrapped up, churning and crackling. Sky Flames danced, the temperature rising.

Tsuna was so, so, so angry.

In the dying sunlight, Vongola’s Sky Ring gleamed.

And Tsuna woke up.


	2. Chapter 2

The thing was Namimori was quiet. Namimori was normal. 

This was not normal. 

Tsuna jolted awake to his alarm going off. He froze, recognizing the bedroom of his childhood home. But… how? This place had gone. They had sold it years ago, after Tsuna had convinced his mother to come to Italy. 

Iemitsu might have left her ignorant and blind, but Tsuna refused to do the same. 

(But maybe his father had a point when Nana was one of the first casualties in a car bombing by Millefiore.) 

This should have been an impossibility. No. There was a way for this to happen. His younger self had probably gotten hit by Lambo’s Bazooka. Tsuna didn’t remember that happening, but ten years was a pretty long time. 

Tick Tock.

Tick Tock.

Tick Tock. 

Five minutes passed and there was no pink smoke. 

What. 

_**What?** _

Tsuna scrambled out of bed, tripping over his bed covers and dashed into the bathroom.

And came face to face his thirteen year old self. 

Tsuna’s breath hitched as his fingers traced the young smooth skin, polished without a scar in sight. Gone was the deep exhaustion in his eyes, the dark bags, he looked well rested for once. He was so young.

He was familiar enough with Lambo’s Ten Year Bazooka to know this was time travel. It was the basis of his master plan with Shoichi that he been preparing. The plan to stop Byakuran, the gamble he was going to make, to save them all. 

“Tsuna! You’re going to be late!” Nana called from somewhere downstairs. 

Tsuna’s heart skipped a beat. His mom. It had been so long since he heard for her voice. 

With nothing else to lose, Tsuna quickly got dressed. Was he really stuck here? In the past? But how? And why? He mulled the thoughts in his head, turning them over. 

Just as he reached the kitchen, Tsuna’s heart sputtered. 

“Ciassous. I’m Reborn, the home tutor.” 

Oh god. Reborn. 

-.-.-

He was in the past. 

He was in the past! 

Tsuna automatically carried throughout the days in a haze. He had long learned how to function in high chaos situation. None of the crazy antics from Reborn fazed him. And it wasn’t like this Reborn had any point of comparison for whatever strange behavior Tsuna was probably displaying. 

Things were unfolding exactly as he remembered. Hayato challenged him to a fight, Takeshi tried to jump off the roof. By the time Tsuna found himself meeting Bianchi, he accepted that this was real. 

Which meant he could do _better_. 

Ten years to prevent Byakuran’s rise. Ten years to save Reborn. 

He would do better. He would do it with his Dying Will. 

It unfolded like his memories. Mukuro came and Tsuna gained his Mist Guardian back. He triumphed against the Varia, won Xanxus’ loyalty. He secured his birthright. He tried, to make things better, easier for his friends. He tried fix Bianchi and Hayato’s relationship, tried to be more understanding of Kyoya’s stoic personality, tried to support Ryohei’s dreams of being a boxer, tried to build Chrome’s self confidence and gave Mukuro a safe haven, no matter how much he denied he didn’t need it. He went to Takeshi’s baseball games, let the girls dress him up in whatever they wanted, played with Lambo, I-pin and Fuuta every moment he got. 

He tried to save Reborn. 

Tsuna poked around, looking at the Arcobaleno Curse from all angles. If Reborn wasn’t an Arcobaleno, there was no way for Byakuran’s poison to target him. 

Which meant Tsuna wouldn’t be forced to watch the strongest man he knew chip away little by little. 

But like opening Pandora’s box in search of hope, Tsuna stumbled across something he was barely equipped to understand. 

And so came the Man in the Iron Hat. 

And so came the Vindice. 

And so came the Rainbow Trials. 

Tsuna struggled to his feet. The Night Flames were suffocating, surrounding him on sides. Bermuda was a blur; Tsuna’s eyes couldn’t keep up. 

He went flying as Bermuda's fist collided with his face. Tsuna rolled across the ground. It wasn’t enough. It wasn’t enough! Barely a year of training wasn’t enough to fix nearly eight years under the Seal. 

“Tsuna!” 

“Juudaime!” 

“Sawada-san!” 

Tsuna staggered, vision blurring. His limbs felt so heavy, like lead weights. He couldn’t fail, he couldn’t-

“I’ll end you here!” Bermuda screamed, crossing the distance in the field in a split second.

But a split second was all that was needed.

Tsuna watched as something black collided with him, shoving him aside. 

“Re-Reborn?” Tsuna croaked. 

There was Bermuda, his hand through Reborn’s chest, blood dripping. 

“I didn’t think the World’s Greatest Hitman was so sentimental that he would sacrifice himself like this,” Bermuda mocked. 

“My student to protect,” Reborn choked out, blood spilling from his mouth. 

No. 

_**No**_. 

Tsuna’s Sky Flames exploded with his anger and grief. 

And then Tsuna woke up. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So close and yet so far. 
> 
> Please leave a review on your way out :D


	3. Chapter 3

Sometimes, the status quo did hold. 

Nana cooed and fussed over her five year old son. Tsuna had missed his papa so much, he cried himself sick after he left. 

She peeked in on Tsuna to find him still asleep. “He must be so tired,” Nana said. “Sleep is good! I’ll just run quickly to the market to buy the things I need for dinner then.”

It was days like this that she missed having Iemitsu around, but he was needed elsewhere, so she had to make due. The sooner she went the sooner she could return to keep an eye on Tsuna. Nana slipped on her sandals and was out the door. 

And thus she missed the explosion of Sky Flames. 

Tsuna, so young, so old, realized he was given yet another chance. 

His Sky Flames roared, riding the anger he remembered, the fire ignited by Bermuda’s mocking sneer and the smell of blood in the air. It burned the fresh seal that Nono had placed on him, over a decade of control Tsuna had been building slamming against it. 

And when Tsuna was finally done sobbing his eyes out, he scrubbed his face clean of tears. “I’ll do better,” he promised. “I swear on my Dying Will.” 

There was a way. And judging from how young he was, maybe this time he would be strong enough defeat Bermuda. He just had to practice.

And practice he did. Every day, every night. He paid no attention the bullies in his elementary school. But Tsuna did check up on his Guardians, just to make sure they were okay. Ryohei was still as ever energetic and Takeshi was honestly enjoying his baseball club. Kyoya eventually clued on and join Tsuna in his spars, but not until end of elementary school. It was nice to connect to Kyoya this way. Plus he didn’t ask questions about Tsuna’s strange magical fire. 

Tsuna refined and refined. He honed what he could, as safely as he could, taking Reborn’s lessons and honing.

The lack of the Seal and well… honestly… the lack of chaos allowed Tsuna to learn his Sky Flames inside and out. 

Before he knew it, the day Reborn arrived.

“Hmm so you’re from the future,” Reborn said. 

Tsuna nodded. As soon as Reborn had introduced himself, Tsuna sat him down and explained everything. He needed Reborn’s help, to ensure the Rainbow Trials went smoothly, that they could defeat Bermuda and later down the road, defeat Byakuran. He managed 

“I see,” Reborn said. “Well, I can’t say I know how you managed to replaced Tsunayoshi, but your Sky Flames are too refined to be a thirteen year old.” 

A glint of silver was Tsuna’s only warning. 

“Die, imposter.”

Tsuna woke up.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those of you wondering why Tsuna never mentions the loops to Reborn in the first place.
> 
> Please leave a review on your way out :D


	4. Chapter 4

The definition of insanity was doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. 

Tsuna suspected he may have potentially gone insane. 

(Reborn beat self awareness into him. He couldn’t just claim ignorance, not as a mafia boss. Not unless he wanted to invite his enemies to his doorstep. Frankly, it was how Byakuran had gotten so far in the first time.) 

But time loops. 

Tsuna numbly woke up in his bedroom for the what was probably the millionth time. (He lost count somewhere between the 874,154th loop and 874,155th loop. He was certain another 200,000 loops had passed at least. Maybe more.) 

He was thirteen, so Reborn was probably going to show up today. Was probably already downstairs, talking to his mother.

Tsuna sat in his bed and squeezed his eyes shut, trying to take a deep breath and breathe. Slowly, in and out. 

It felt like an eternity had stretched. It seemed so long ago that Tsuna had woken up in the past for the first time. 

What do you do when your anger left you? What do you do when your emotions are drained and you’re so numb to everything? How many times can you witness the one you love die in front of you?

How many times was Tsuna going to watch Reborn die for him? Whether it was to Byakuran’s poison, to save Tsuna, to the Arcobaleno Curse, or even just Tsuna’s weakness, his inability to save Reborn. 

He had done this song and dance for an eternity and Tsuna didn’t have the answer yet. He tried so many things. He figured out how to stop Byakuran’s rise to power loops ago. 

(He had been horrified to be on the younger side of the equation of his master plan. That was how his master plan would have gone? Tsuna had been unaware of how cold, how dangerous, it seemed in reality.) 

He figured out the best way to solve his Guardians’ issues. He saved Mukuro early a few times, before he even had to suffer the human experimentations. He learned to stop Takeshi’s dark thoughts from forming and leading him down a different path. He figured out how to clean up the mafia faster. Crime dropped and Tsuna, always waiting for Reborn to unlock his Sky Flames, progressed as fast as he could, a genius of Sky Flames, but he didn’t dare to try unlock it earlier. 

(Tsuna had forgotten many loops at this point, but the third one… He never forgot that one and he never brought up the truth to Reborn again.) 

None of it matter. 

None of it matter because still Reborn died. 

(Always in protection of Tsuna, always.)

(Or because Tsuna was too weak to protect him.) 

The storm in his heart kicked up again, wailing in grief. He was so tired, but he didn’t, he couldn’t. Not without Reborn. 

None of this was acceptable as long as Reborn, as long as any of his precious people died. 

He wanted them happy and whole.

(He had figured out how to avoid the mafia completely, even managed to toss the title of Decimo onto Xanxus more than a few times. Yet it was never enough, no matter how people their lives were, there was always some freak accident that always, always, always took Reborn away.) 

“Dame-Tsuna! Lazing in bed, I see. I’ll have to train that out of you.” 

Tsuna reflexively reacted. “HIIEEE! Who are you?!” 

“Ciassou, I’m Reborn, the home tutor.” 

Tsuna screeched, just like he would have, if he was really thirteen. But inside his heart weep and weep. 

-.-.-

And then one day, an opportunity presented itself. 

Tsuna clung to Reborn, hands pressing down, trying to stop the bleeding out. Reborn, free of the curse, so close to happiness, had been hiding the wound that Bermuda had dealt him. The World’s Greatest Sun Flame user and Reborn wasn’t even conscious enough to heal him. Around him, Ryohei and Lussuria scrambled forward, trying to assist but Reborn was loosing so much blood. It had been long already, too extensive and slowly but surely Reborn was slipping away. 

“Tsuna! Let him go,” Lussuria said. 

“No!” Tsuna howled. 

“You’re in the way! They can help him better without you,” Byakuran said, trying to tug Tsuna away as Daisy rushed forward. 

“Reborn!” Tsuna cried out, hysterical. Not again. No! 

And this loop, so close to the second one, so similar, Tsuna snapped. But this time, the Sky Flames reflected inward, pouring straight into Reborn’s body. Tsuna, who had always believed in the impossible becoming possible, demanded that Death give him back Reborn. 

And Dying Will Flames, are their core, was one’s lifeforce. Sky Flames whose ability to harmonized, synced and intertwined with Reborn’s Sun Flames, coaxing them back. Tsuna poured and poured and poured. 

Sweat rolled down his face, his vision poured. There was yelling around him, the noise falling deaf to his ears. 

He couldn’t. He just couldn’t. 

Then, like a miracle, Reborn choked, coughed up blood, but importantly breathed. Those black eyes that Tsuna had feared would be closed forever opened.

“Dame-Tsuna-! What did you do?!” 

Dying Will Flames were one’s lifeforce. Tsuna poured enough into Reborn… enough to trade places. 

Tsuna’s world turned black.

And then Tsuna woke up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave a review on your way out :D


	5. Chapter 5

The first thing Tsuna did was cry. He cried and cried and cried. But for the first time in a long time, they were tears of relief. The anger that always lurked under his skin, that grief he carried in his heart, they sheltered, the storm clearing. 

For once Reborn had survived. 

For once Tsuna had managed to save him. 

Tsuna didn’t know how these time loops worked. But if that timeline continued in any form or way, it meant at least in that world, Reborn was alive. 

The fact that it came at the price of his death was unimportant. 

Reborn was alive, in that timeline, in this loop. It meant something. 

Tsuna wasn’t such a dame after all. He could save Reborn, save the man he owed everything, save the man who through everything supported him unconditionally.

So how could he continue this?

Tsuna wiped away his tears and again his Sky Flames lit under this new vow, this new determination that had previously waned away. 

Even at the cost of his own life, he would save Reborn.

-.-.-

These time loops weren’t… terrible. Painful, but not terrible. There were enough happy days. Tsuna got to see his Guardians, his friends, his mother. He got to see them do the things they love. And there was often just enough variation to make each loop interesting. 

There had been one loop where Takeshi loved American Football instead of baseball. A loop where Hayato had been a girl. A loop where Kyoya was a chatterbox instead of a stoic. 

Tsuna let the cards lay as they fell, seeing where it could go. Saving Reborn was the most important and as the loops passed, he had learned to recognize the dangerous, almost accidental way things gravitated to Reborn. He had no idea that Reborn had been narrowly dodging the things life tossed his way. The car that would have normally hit Tsuna, Reborn had causally tugged him away from it. And though Reborn had never shown any wounds -his Sun Flames at work, no doubt- Tsuna noticed over time, the way Reborn would be clipped by things exploding or flying out of nowhere. 

It was like… fate was conspiring against the two of them. 

Tsuna was not the World’s Greatest Hitman, but he could see these incident coming, before Reborn could even, and maneuver himself into place to protect Reborn. 

It was okay to let go. 

Reborn was alive, his friends healthy and happy, it was okay to let go. 

He made his peace. He settled his regrets. 

It was enough. 

-.-.-

“Tsuna, you know that we’re in a time loop.” 

This Reborn was sure of. He skipped the pleasantries, tried to suppressed that he now had the knowledge of what it meant to be crushed under a cement tube felt like. 

Tsuna slowly blinked, surprise slowly filling his eyes. “You’ve noticed. I thought these last several loops you had been acting strangely.” 

He was right. Tsuna did know. 

“How? Why?” 

“I don’t know,” Tsuna said. “All I remember was an all consuming anger… then I woke up.”

Reborn let out a frustrated sigh. He had exhausted all options.This was something he had never experienced before. He had over many loops, asked Viper for information, quizzed Verde. Both had no answers. He reached out to Aria a few times and she foresaw nothing. 

“We are stuck then,” Reborn said flatly. 

Tsuna just smiled at him. It was bitter and sad and so weary. It was so strange to see on a thirteen year old who was far older than he appeared, who remembered, who died for Reborn because of Reborn, who willing went to his death just so Reborn, a different Reborn, could live a little bit longer. 

Reborn huffed. “Well I supposed we’re at least stuck together.” At least he no longer had to doubt that he was going insane.

“True.” 

They would escape this time loop… one day. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's how the loops started. 
> 
> Reborn died over and over again and Tsuna could never save him. Until he figured out that dying to protect Reborn was enough. Tsuna comforts himself with the fact that he thinks the timeline continues on, after him that Reborn from that timeline goes on with his life but he actually has no way of knowing whether that's true or not. 
> 
> As for whether if they ever escape? Well, that's another story. 
> 
> Please leave a review on your way out :D

**Author's Note:**

> I... originally had no intention of writing this. But then Kosaji came along, kicked the plunny and the next thing I know, I'm on a writing frenzy. 
> 
> So to those of wondering how the time loops started. Here you go. 
> 
> Please leave a review on your way out :D


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